There are only twelve notes in music — A, A#/Bb, B, C, C#/Db, D, D#/Eb, E, F, F#/Gb, G, G#/Ab — and they repeat up every string. In standard tuning the open strings are E, A, D, G, B and E from the thickest (low) string to the thinnest (high). Move up one fret and you raise the note by a semitone; move up twelve frets and you reach the same note an octave higher. Because the same note appears in several places on the neck, learning the fretboard is really about spotting those repeating patterns rather than memorising 72 separate dots. Pick a root above to light up where every note of a scale falls, switch the labels between note names, intervals and scale degrees, and use the open-string and key-fret references below as anchor points.
Open string notes
6th string (thickest)E
5th stringA
4th stringD
3rd stringG
2nd stringB
1st string (thinnest)E
Key fret positions
Fret 3G on low E, C on A string
Fret 5A on low E (same as open A)
Fret 7B on low E, E on A string
Fret 10D on low E, G on A string
Fret 12Octave — same notes as open strings
Tips for learning fretboard notes
1Learn the natural notes firstFocus on A, B, C, D, E, F, G. The sharps/flats are just one fret above or below these.
2Master the E and A stringsThese are your root-note strings for barre chords. Knowing them unlocks chord shapes everywhere.
3Use octave patternsLearn the diagonal octave shapes — once you know one note, you can find it in other positions.